How far is too far?

I understand that we’re all passionate about safety. And at some point or another, most of us have had to deal with criticism from friends or family members who think we’ve taken this whole car safety thing too far and just gone right off the deep end. Usually, we just brush off these ignorant remarks because deep in our hearts we know that we’re right and obviously they just don’t get it. We’re aware of the fact that MVC’s are a leading cause of death to children in the U.S. and we’re all determined to protect our children to the best of our abilities. That’s our job as parents and caregivers and we all take that responsibility very seriously. I understand that, I really do – because I’m right there with ya.

But how are we to know if we’ve really gone too far? Certainly, our safety-addicted friends at the car-seat.orgforum would never stage an intervention on our behalf. And our spouse would probably rather walk across hot coals than incur our wrath by suggesting that maybe, just maybe, we’re being a bit too extreme.

So, who’s gonna give it to ya straight and tell you when it’s time to chillax? Who’s going to remind you that you can’t save the world and completely eradicate all injuries to all children in MVCs – no matter how desperately you want to? Who’s gonna tell you when it’s time to step away from that vehicle in the Walmart parking lot because clearly you’re not dealing with an appreciative and open-minded victim?

I will.

However, the first step to getting help is to admit that you have a problem. Don’t think you have a problem? Get in line. And while you’re there – take our short survey:

2. When you go grocery shopping do you spend 20 minutes thinking about the most appropriate way to secure those projectiles for the ride home?

3. Have you purchased more carseats for other people’s kids than you have for your own children?

4. Have you ever considered gluing sheets of EPS foam to the rear windows of a vehicle that doesn’t have side curtain airbags?

5. Do you lose sleep thinking about your neighbor’s child who is 5 years old and rides in a backless booster?

6. Do you respond “ABSOLUTELY”, when someone posts an online poll asking whether you would put a small, immature 13-year-old back into a 5-point harness?

7. Have you ever refused to ride the monorail at WDW because you considered it too risky?

8. Do you have anxiety attacks when you see properly restrained forward-facing 2-year-olds?

9. Do you always remember to secure your purse with an available safety belt?

10. On Halloween, do you hand out copies of the 5-Step Test flyer instead of candy? (If you hand out the flyer WITH candy – that doesn’t count as a yes.)

If you answered yes to more than 1 question above – please do yourself a favor and go volunteer some of your time at carseat check events in the lowest, low-income inner-city area you can find within driving distance. If you don’t have any impoverished inner-city areas within driving distance, then a rural, migrant farm worker community will suffice. All kidding aside, these are the types of places where your knowledge, passion, and dedication to Child Passenger Safety are desperately needed. And seeing the frightening reality of how these children ride around every day will really help you to appreciate the beautiful sight of a properly restrained, albeit forward-facing, 2-year-old. Everything in life is relative and a healthy perspective will keep you focused on the bigger picture – and help you avoid going off the deep end in the process.

Amazing concept. This reminds me of 2 YouTube vlogger families who do push car seat safety beyond the limits, 5pt harness for 10 and 12 yr olds, I wouldn’t doubt it if they ordered the XL Frontier harness from Britax. The kids are fine in rental cars and other vehicles with just the seatbelts. I wish more people would RF their toddlers and babies in my city. I partially give a free pass to 2door cars with poor access to backseats for FF, but it still annoys me. Welp, better to FF than no carseat at all. Currently 17weeks pregnant with my first, most likely getting graco snugride for this baby, and later on a e2f, and rf thru age 6.

OMG. I’ve glued EPS foam to the car. I’ve handed out info on Halloween. Yes to everything here, I think. LOL. I am weary of the Monorail.
But then again, if I asked a parent who lost a child to a crash if they’d do anything differently, well…
I don’t want to ever say I’d do something differently. I do it as safe as I can. And that’s the best I can do. I don’t think we’re too over the top really when it comes to our setup. I try to rear-face to 3. I try to harness to 6. I will booster them until they 5-step, which might be age 9 or 10. I have broken the first 2 “tries” a few times due to logistics. We have big kids and a lot of 3 in a rows. If they’d been born short, ouch. They’d have quite a time with a Mama wanting to booster them until adulthood!!! 🙂

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You must read your carseat and vehicle owner's manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at CarseatBlog are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC.

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